E3 2014: Press Conference Analysis – Nintendo

For the second year in a row, Nintendo has bucked the traditional big auditorium presentation in favor of one of their now-steady Nintendo Direct addresses. Known for packing a lot of information into each one, however, there was a lot to take away from less than an hour of coverage.

Danreb Victorio, Managing Editor

This year, Nintendo finally proved that the E3 Press Conference is an epic waste of money as the Nintendo Digital Event was just like a Nintendo game–very entertaining, but as entertaining as it was, there weren’t too many “new surprises.” Still, Nintendo showed game after game after game after game, and negative armchair analysts all over Twitter now really want a Wii U, but it’s hard to say it’ll turn any corners without a price drop.

My main issue with the Direct Feed this year is the same as last year’s–47 minutes? Why the time limit? It doesn’t need one, and I don’t think their audience wants one. From Star Fox on Wii U to Fantasy Life on 3DS, with pricing announcements for the new GameCube controllers and the peripheral that allows you to use GameCube controllers–this is all stuff that Nintendo’s fans would’ve liked to see in the presser. I understand the need the benefit of keeping things short and sweet, but if you don’t show off everything you have right away, people will lose interest.

As for my highlights, I’m pretty psyched that the original Bayonetta is packed in with Bayonetta 2. It’s also rather surprising to see her in random Nintendo suits and power-ups, but that’s Nintendo making it Nintendo.

And people need to stop calling Splatoon a new IP. Unless it suddenly has a crazy single player campaign, I don’t see a game like warranting a full retail purchase.

Filippo Dinolfo, Senior Editor

The good news is Miyamoto is working on a new Star Fox. The bad news is we didn’t see squat. They spent an awful long time doing the developer diary type video and showing games that are still a good ways off. That said, there was a fair bit of interesting stuff to see. Mario Maker looks interesting, as does the new Zelda. Beyond that though, I’ll still hold off on my Wii U purchase until that new Star Fox becomes more real.

Patrick Mifflin, Associate Editor

Nintendo was strong from start to finish, but unfortunately it was almost as if they got tired too fast because the show itself was shorter than it needed to be. There was no shortage of good games to come out of it, but they didn’t really come off as a company that was desperate to push hardware, which they really should be at this point. There might be more to tell on the show floor, but press conference perceptions are what stick with us, and Nintendo didn’t really do as much as they could have, and frankly, should have, in order to try and gain the ground they lost in the last year.

With that having been said, I’m absolutely thrilled that the Zelda franchise is going back to its roots by dropping you into Hyrule with no handholding to speak of. What started out as simple narrative in A Link to the Past quickly festered into a massive barrier between you and the games throughout the 3D Zelda era, so seeing that go may be the primary selling point of this new installment to me.

Josh Schwartzman, Staff Writer

I really wish Nintendo would have shown off more games instead of going “behind the scenes” and doing developer diaries and history lessons. Sony and Microsoft made a solid effort to showcase the games this time around, while Nintendo started talking about new integrated toys (Amiibo) and Mii customization for games. I honestly believed the Mii integration was slowly fading away yet Nintendo is still constantly pushing it.

Yoshi’s Woolly World looks nice but its basically just Kirby Epic Yarn with a new character and Mario Maker looks like it could be a lot of fun. The new Zelda of course looks amazing, and assuming that was in game footage we saw, it could definitely end up being one of the best entries yet. Shame we didnt get to see more of Super Smash Bros. on the Wii U, and I know I am not alone in wondering who that secret character they unveiled at the end was. All in all, kind of a disappointment for Nintendo.